I'll be Here
by SheWhomLaughsLast
Summary: After a touching moment and rekindling of their relationship between Doccubus, Lauren gets attacked by a strange beast while Bo and Kenzi are out. Can the group of Fae save the Doctor from her poisoned state? Or will all be for not?
1. Chapter 1

**So, on my never ending femslash quest, I accidentally came across Doccubus (thank you Youtube suggestion box) and I freaking love them. Even better that it was a Canadian show (what? I'm Canadian and, honestly, we don't make a lot of shows, let alone good shows.) So I've kind of been…obsessed. I just wish Lauren would grow a fricken back bone and stop being so submissive to Bo and dog face. Nothing against Dyson, he just pisses me off a whole lot. **

**Anyway, I hope you enjoy.**

**P.S. Team Lauren, just sayin'.**

"Um, Bo?" Lauren said as I turned to head out the door. I'd found another lead on my parents and was out to meet a contact, I just came back to make sure the blonde was doing alright, what with the whole hiding from the new pain in the ass Ash. I turned back

"Yeah?" She dug something out of the pocket of her jeans and held it in her fist, hiding it from view but looking down at it like she could see it through her fingers.

"I, um, I wanted to give you something. Because you've been so understanding and kind to me since…you know." She was nervous, that much was obvious. Whatever she was going to say was going to be hard for her. I took a step towards her and gently squeezed her bicep.

"Lauren, you don't need to—"

"Bo, if I don't do this now, I'll chicken out." She gave me a wary smile and I nodded, closing my mouth tightly. "I've been thinking about this a lot and um…" she closed her eyes and shook her head before looking at me. "I know what it's like, to be searching for who you are and where you came from, feeling alone…" she unclenched her fist and in her palm sat an oval locket, an intricate design engraved on the front. "And this always made me feel like there was someone who cared, who was looking out for me."

"It's beautiful, Lauren." I said, in awe at the beautiful glimmer in the silver metal that seemed unworldly. Magical.

"It was my mother's." I saw her face soften for a brief moment. "I've had this since before I can remember." She gave me a tiny smile and unclasped it, holding it out to me. "Now I want you to have it." Wait. What?

"Lauren, I can't take that from you. Your mom gave it to you." I told her taking half a step back. She laughed a little bit.

"Bo, trust me. I know you put on a brave face, I know you act like you're strong and have it together, but I can see more than you give me credit for. You need to know you've got people who care." She opened it and now it was my turn to smile. "I asked Kenzi if she thought it was a good idea and, obviously, she approved." In the first frame was a picture of the goofball, a ridiculous cross eyed grin meeting me. The other side of the locket was empty, a different symbol carved on the inside. "I, um, I got a patient of mine, an enchanter to charm it. It'll bring you luck." I didn't stop her this time as she clasped it around my neck gently and centred it on my chest.

"Thank you." I said, touching the cool metal. "No one's ever given me anything like this before." She leaned against the back of the couch, hands in her pockets.

"Does it make me a selfish, insensitive jerk that I'm glad to be the first?"I laughed a little at the cute expression on her face. "In all seriousness, Bo, I just want you to know that, if you need me, I'm here for you. Whatever, whenever." She smiled and started towards the kitchen. I caught her arm as she passed me, making her stop. She looked at me and I looked back, seeing love in her eyes. Careful love. Like she was afraid to do something wrong that'd push us farther apart again. I kissed her cheek gently, holding her face against mine for a moment. I felt her hand cup the back of my head gently and inhale deeply at the same time I did.

"I'm not going to disappear on you, Lauren." I said softly into her ear, cupping her cheek in the palm of my hand.

"I know. I just want you to be safe." I smiled and looked at her as she pulled away, seeing the same feeling I felt glowing there. "Go on," she said, motioning to the door. "You've got a lead to follow." When I didn't move she rolled her eyes "I'll be here when you get back."

"You'd better be." I said, half teasingly and she brushed against me and continued to the kitchen.

I walked out the door with a smile on my face, my fingers caressing the locket around my neck.

**Soooo…I was thinking about writing a fic about this two, if you guys would be interested, that is. **

**So let me know, that review button isn't just eye candy you know.**


	2. The Manticore

**So…you guys were all happy with the first chapter, but chances are you'll hate me by the end of this one.**

**Chapter 2**

_**Bo**_

I strolled into our house after following the lead to a dead end, tossing my keys on the table, Kenzi following me in. Turns out, the fae we were told knew nothing, but tried to "Honey!" I called out teasingly "I'm home!" There was no answer. Kenzi shoved past me and made a B-line for the kitchen, searching for more of Lauren's baked goods. My brows furrowed in confusion. "Lauren?" Where the hell was she?

"Tell your hot honey lovah to make me, like, a life supply of these brownies. They are like the birth of Christ in my mouth!" I gave her a look and she rolled her eyes. "You don't know because _you _haven't tried your Doctor-friend's baked goods."

"Whatever." I sighed and looked around. Something felt off. Weird.

"Non-believer." The gothic girl muttered. "Holy shit!" Kenzi yelped peering into my room, half a brownie falling out of her mouth. "Did you and Lauren get really freaky in the bedroom or did something eat your room?" I blinked and quickly strode over to see what she was talking about. My mouth fell open. The room was destroyed. My bed had been torn apart, chunks of mattress laying about, pillow feather strewn everywhere, the posts which had been holding the canopy were snapped like twigs, one laid on the ground covered in the remains of my quilt cover.

"What…the hell?" I walked into the room slowly, kicking the quilt off of the stick and screamed. Kenzi came bolting in after me.

"What?" I backed up into the dresser, pointing at the thing hidden beneath my bedding. On the ground of my room, laid a lion. Or at least it had the body of a lion, the face of a child and a tail with long, pointed barbs at the end, the post of my bed skewered through it like a merry-go-round pony. "Whoa!" She leapt behind me, fingers gripping the back of my shirt. "What the hell is that thing!" I crouched down, looking at the blood pooling around it. "And how the hell did it get in here?"

"Whatever it is, it's obliviously…" I looked at the post sticking into its chest and glanced at the door, my heart dropping when I saw the wall by the exit. A bloodied hand print smeared over the surface, wrapping around the door frame. I let my eyes fall to the ground and saw bloody foot prints, blood splatter on the hard wood planks.

"Obviously what?" She followed my gaze. "Oh double shit." I heard something fall upstairs, a barely audible grunt echoing through the ceiling.

"Lauren!" I yelled and waited for a long, agonizing moment. I needed to know if she was alright before I freaked.

"Bo…" a very weak sob answered me and took off through the house, taking the stairs three at a time until I reached the bathroom. That creature downstairs, whatever the hell it was, looked like it could pack a hell of a punch. If I were to go against it, I might be lucky to get out with a few cuts and a broken limb. But against a human with no fighting experience…

I didn't even want to think about it.

The only think I _could _think was the carnage I could see once I reached the top of the staircase.

I shoved open the door and there I found a trail of red smears and droplets leading to Lauren trying to push herself from the floor, her arms and hands covered with blood, the medical kit supplies scattered and covered in crimson goo, packages upon packages of gauze ripped open and tenser bandages drenched in blood sitting in the claw foot bath. The side of the bath tub had long, dragged hand prints down the side, like she'd tried to catch herself as she fell, only to hit the ground anyway. Three spines, possibly from the thing downstairs, stuck out of her, one in her shoulder, one in her thigh and the other poking out from just off centre of her back. "Lauren!" I ran to her and dove to my knees and pulled her up against me, her back resting against my front. Long gouges sliced across her chest, blood slowly oozing into her blouse. I looked at the petrified Kenzi and tossed my phone at her. "Call an ambulance!" I barked as she juggled it for a second before grasping it.

"No." Lauren wheezed, her face damp with sweat, chest heaving. "Don't call an ambulance."

"Lauren, we have to get you help." She shook her head vigorously. "I saw that thing in the bedroom, whatever it is."

"It's a manticore, an underfae." I hung my head for a moment.

"Shit." Calling a human medical team would expose the fae world, not something I could do if I was planning on keeping all of us alive.

"Exposure of the fae world is a definite. But, more importantly, they'll try to remove the spines." She grunted, leaning more and more heavily against me, her arms trembling as she held a wadded up tensor bandage to the claw marks across her chest. She shook her head again, looking like she would pass out at any second. "If they try to take the spines out, I'll die for sure." I looked back at Kenzi, who was holding my phone to her chest, looking like a deer in the headlights.

"Kenzi, call Trick, tell him that we had a run in with a manti…"

"Manticore."

"A manticore, tell him Lauren's hurt real bad, three spines in her body, long cuts across her chest, lots of blood loss." I looked down at the doctor "how long ago?" Lauren cleared her throat as I wiped at the tears rolling down her face.

"Fifteen minutes or so." My heart squeezed painfully.

Fifteen minutes. If I'd just come home fifteen minutes earlier, I could've saved her. I could've been the one lying on the ground instead of her. At least I could heal much faster than her, have a far better chance of surviving that than she did.

I pushed my guilt down and turned back to Kenzi, "tell him it's only been about fifteen minutes." She nodded and started hammering in the numbers, pacing as she held the phone to her ear.

"I couldn't stop the bleeding…" the blonde breathed, leaning against me more, her hands trembling violently. "I can't stop the bleeding, I tried-I tried to use the medical kit..." She whimpered and I held her tighter, pressing my own hands over the cuts as best I could, careful not to touch the spines.

"I know you did."

"It came so fast…I…I didn't know it was there until…" I hushed her gently, rocking her back and forth slowly, trying to sooth her.

"It's ok, Lauren. It's ok." I pulled open her shirt so I could get a better view of the wound and I nearly threw up.

The cuts were deep but clean, extending from her right shoulder diagonally just below her throat and The white of her ribs showed clearly through the torn flesh. "It hurts." She whimpered, a single tear rolling down her face from under closed eyes.

"I know, I know. But it's really important that you stay awake, ok? It's really, really important."

"I'm so tired, Bo…" She whispered. "Just a few minutes…"

"No! No. No sleepy time for Lauren." I looked at her face as she struggled to keep awake. And then an idea hit me. "Hey, um, why don't we name all the chemicals in the periodic table of…chemicals?"

"Table of elements, not chemicals." She corrected me groggily. I smiled. Alright, ten points for Bo.

"Ok well, there's oxygen, right? And neon and—"

"It's easier if you start with the Nobel Gases…" she murmured, barely conscious now. I couldn't help but smile as she mumbled a whole bunch of chemical names I didn't understand.

"They're coming." Kenzi said, kneeling down beside us. "Trick and Dyson and Siren, they're all on their way."

"Good." I said, brushing the hair out of Lauren's face gently.

"Goddamn," Kenzi hissed under her breath, watching as I pressed my hands back over her chest and bit back the whimper as her blood squished out from between my fingers. "_This _isn't good." Suddenly, the locket around my neck felt like it weighed a ton.

_Oh Lauren, _I thought, pressing my lips to the top of the Doctor's head _what disaster have we gotten into now? _

**Yeah, that's how I roll, I give you happiness and then tear you down with disaster. Anyway, if you haven't notice, I will be writing this as a story. How long of a story, I won't know until I finish.**

**Remember kids: every time you review a Zombie Unicorn Zebra gets its wings.**


	3. Doctor Hotpants

**Chapter 3**

_**Lauren**_

"Lauren? Lauren, wake up." The voice called to me sweetly through the dark, pulling me to consciousness. I opened my eyes slowly, Bo's face being the first thing I saw. Her hands gently slid down the side of my face, stopping to caress my face gently. "Hey there Sleeping Beauty." She smiled and I sighed contently, knowing there was definitely morphine dripping into my veins, numbing the agony I was positive was there and calming me down

. What had happened wasn't lost on me. I'd seen the manticore, I remember it's human-like face snarling, three rows of teeth sharp like a sharks glinting behind it's lips…

I blinked slowly, noticing the roof wasn't the one I'd been staring at a few hours ago. They must've brought me to Trick's bar, bottom level. It would make sense; he would have everything here that he's need to help me. "Hey." I breathed, looking around at the other face hovering over me. Kenzi looked over Bo's shoulder while Hale, Trick, and Dyson stood side by side, watching me carefully.

"How're you feeling?" she asked and I raised my hand to my forehead, stopping when I felt a slight tug on the inside of my elbow. Two tubes ran into either arm, one an IV the other a blood bag. I put my arm back by my side and looked back up at the ceiling. The spines were definitely still lodged in my body, the one going through my midsection was throbbing dully. My chest had been stitched together, the entire upper half of my body wrapped completely in a bandage. I felt the skin pull tight when I shifted slightly and mentally winced. Not from pain, but the disgusting feeling of knowing that, we're you to move just a little too much, you'd tear your skin apart.

"Like hell." Bo looked away, Dyson rolled his eyes, Tricks and Hale laughed quietly and Kenzi shoved a brownie into her mouth.

"You lost a lot of blood." Trick said, "we stopped by your lab, made it seem like we were looking for you, got blood and morphine and we also brought the manticore in so we could examine it, figure out where it came from." I pushed myself up, which was difficult at first until a certain succubus helped me, letting me lean back against her as she sat behind my back on the couch.

"I know where it came from." Everyone looked at me, eyes as wide as silver dollars. "It's voice was distorted."

"Wait, hold the hell up!" Kenzi said around a mouth full of food. "Its 'voice'? What are you? The manticore whisperer?" I heard the solid thud of Bo elbowing the younger girl in the stomach and I continued.

"Like Sphinxes, manticores often challenge their prey with a riddle before killing them."

"That's really screwed up." Kenzi muttered

"Yeah, well, this one couldn't speak. It just made strange mumbling sounds. And, the way it attacked me wasn't the same as the attack patterns of a wild manticore. This one clawed me first then shot its spines at me as I made a run for it. Manticores taught to hunt by their parents will shoot the spines first to paralyze their prey before eating it." I felt Bo shudder.

"So, you think it was domesticated?" Trick asked, seeming intrigued by the idea and sat on the opposite arm of the couch.

"Definitely."

"So," Dyson started, an honestly curious look on his face "if the spines are supposed to paralyze someone, why are you moving around? And why were you able to drag yourself up a flight of stairs?"

"Most 'breeders' of manticore think that breeding them by artificial selection creates a more deadly creature, stronger and more toxic. But, in reality, natural selection works differently than in the human world. Manticore bred by humans are often far less poisonous because they don't know what they're looking for when they try to create a stronger underfae."

"A human breeder?" Bo asked and I nodded.

"It's rare, but I've heard of them from fae who pass through the clinic. They're bred like fighting dogs, the more aggressive creatures are allowed to live, and the passive ones are killed off." I sighed and looked down at the needle-like projectile embedded in my shoulder. "The one sent to the hide out was only a cub, which made its poison even less potent."

"Will it still have a serious effect?" Trick asked and I waited a moment before nodded.

"Most likely if the spines aren't removed in three days or so."

"Then why don't we just pull them out already?" Kenzi asked, walking around and sitting on the coffee table. I sighed and looked up at the ceiling. Lucky for me, Trick felt like answering the question instead.

"the manticore's spines are laced with microscopic poisonous barbs. When the needles have been lodged into the flesh of a human, the barbs sink in. Removing the spines before an antidote is ready will allow those barbs to sink into the soft tissue and begin infecting the body, causing death in little less than a day with no hope of recovery."

"Oh." The gothic girl mumbled, popping the last of my brownies into her mouth. Bo's fingers pulled through my hair gently as sudden exhaustion swept over me, her thigh suddenly becoming amazingly comfortable under my head.

"Hey, guys," she said, looking at the group around us "why don't you all go out to the bar? I'll get Lauren set up to sleep and join you guys in a second." Hesitantly, they all slowly shifted from the room and I let my eyes drift closed. We sat in silence for a while, Bo's fingers soothingly combing my hair. "so," she began after a long moment of quiet, with me nearly asleep. I cracked an eye and looked up at her face.

"Are you going to tell me what happened? Or are you going to leave me in suspense?" I laughed once, turning on my side to alleviate some of the pressure on the impalements, taking a moment to nuzzle my face into Bo's stomach and rest there for a little bit.

"Can we just stay here for a little bit?" I asked softly, hiding my face against her and breathing in the smell that was distinctly Bo. I felt her laugh and couldn't keep from smiling.

"Fine. For a little bit." Her hands played with my hair and lips touched my head. After a few minutes, I pulled myself up so I was over her lap, face to face while propping myself up on my elbow. She looked drowsy, like I just woke her up. I reached out and touched the locket around her neck gently as she rubbed her eyes. "Okay," she mumbled "now you have to tell me stuff." Her voice was slightly slurred with sleep and I nodded.

"I don't remember every detail." I said gently, tugging at the bandage around my chest. One of her hands pulled it away and weaved her fingers in mine. "I remember walking from the kitchen towards the living room and seeing something run into your bedroom. I thought that maybe a squirrel had gotten inside or something, so I went to go see and…" I motioned to my gauze packed chest "it caught me by surprise."

"ok, well, that doesn't explain the disaster area that's my bedroom." I looked away for a second and then back to her. "When Trick was bandaging you, he said there was severe bruising on your back and slight rib fractures." I muttered a feeble 'so?' under my breath and she rolled her eyes. "You gonna tell me what that's about?"

"When it hit me, I flew back into your room and into the canopy's posts."

"Wait, that's why they're all broken? That thing threw you into them?"

"and then I rammed one through its chest cavity and its spine. I'd say it's about even."

"Except for the part where you almost bled out on my floor."

"Why are you making such a big deal out of this?"

"Why_ aren't_ you?" I looked away, gathering myself before looking back at her. "You know how I found you? I found you, half dead on my bathroom floor, pressing a blood soaked tenser bandage to the massive cuts on your chest."

"I can't heal like you or Trick can, Bo. I'm human. My form is fragile. Cuts like those go deep, the skin is thin, bones are close to the surface. I should've known better to let my guard down."

"There is nothing wrong with letting your guard down, Lauren." She said, cupping my cheek and forcing me to look at her. I nodded half-heartedly, laying my hand over hers and leaned into it for a moment.

"Helllooooo" Kenzi called from the bar "if lady-lovin' is over now, we could really use everyone's favourite succubus up here." Bo rolled her eyes and I smiled, though a sadness washed over me. I pushed it away, I'd have plenty of time to deal with feelings with the morphine numbing the pain.

"I'll be there in a second!" she called out and then looked back at me "you gonna be ok?" I nodded, willing my smile to be genuine than it was.

"Yeah," I squeezed her hand before removing it from my cheek. "Yeah, I'm going to take a nap anyways, you might as well go and plot your next move."

"Ok" she said hesitantly, carefully lifting me so she could slide out and the resting me back down, slipping a pillow beneath my head. "You take it easy though, alright?" With a peck on the cheek, Bo walked out towards the group of people huddled around a table. I sighed and pulled the throw blanket around me more, willing sleep to come fast than it did.


	4. If Tomorrow Starts without Me

**Chapter 4**

_**Lauren**_

I sat cross legged on the floor, eyes closed, new bandages wrapped around my torso, focusing only on how I was breathing. I'd taken myself off morphine and only had transfusions at night to allow my body to rest without working overtime to clean the blood. Meditation had been something I'd practiced on and off for some time. Mostly when I was under the direct control of the Ash, it was just a form of release or escape. A way of letting myself focus and calm down. But now, now it was about healing.

I'd read studies on meditation; allegedly, it calmed the heart rate, slowed the breathing and increased the blood flow to the brain. A slowed heart rate would stop any poison flowing into my system from spreading too quickly.

Bo had left me with Trick yesterday, hesitantly, but she'd agreed to come back the next day. It was about four in the morning now. I couldn't sleep. I needed answers. I needed the information this attack could give me. The science behind it was incredible. Granted, the attack nearly killed me, but now that I wasn't dead, I could learn a lot.

"What're you doing up?" Trick asked, walking into the room. I didn't open my eyes.

"Couldn't sleep." I murmured, otherwise not moving. Trick's presence didn't disturb me. With a being so wise and almost mystical as he in the room, it wasn't a problem.

"Too many questions?"

"Something like that."

"About the Manticore, or Bo?" That's when I opened my eyes and saw him sitting across from me, a serious look on his face. I sighed and pushed myself to my knees.

"Trick, you've done enough for me already. Allowing me to stay here, helping me with the bandages and treatment, I don't want to bother you with relationships. Especially my own." He chuckled softly and I looked at my hands in my lap, feeling slightly embarrassed.

"Lauren, all you do is help other people. But never have I seen you let someone else lend a hand when you needed it." I didn't say anything. Being helped was far harder than helping. Or rather, _allowing _someone to help me was harder for me than actually helping someone else. "a blind man could see the way you look at her, Lauren. What are you so afraid of?" I raked my fingers through my hair and refused to answer. We sat in silence for a few long moments until he stood up, brushing off his slacks. "When you want to talk, you know where to find me." I nodded and he left for the tavern floor. I folded my legs and relaxed on the floor again, though it took longer this time to find peace.

+/+\+

The gang had gathered on the main level, talking about some kind of mission or location they were gunning for. By now it was almost nine am and I hadn't moved from meditation since earlier, only to allow Trick to change the bandages and apply more salve to the spines. Meditation was easier than worrying or lying on the couch. At least then I knew I was doing something for my body.

And my heart.

"Do you guys sense that?" Bo asked suddenly, loud enough for me to hear. With muttered negatives, Bo's heels tapped on the floor, heading in my direction.

"Where're you going!" Kenzi called after her.

"Keep talking, I'll be right back!" her footsteps echoed down the stairs and stopped. "Whoa." She mumbled, "Lauren?" I didn't move, just took a long deep breath. The raspy edge to her voice wasn't helping my relaxation. I concentrated more on my breathing. She walked around until she was in front of me. I heard her kneel down and I opened my eyes.

"Hey." I said softly. Her face was slightly twisted into a look of confusion and almost pain.

"Hey." She muttered, her eyes tracing me. A long cut showed on the side of her left arm, it appeared old, maybe a few hours, but it wasn't something that she would've left untreated. The skin around it was red and inflamed from possible infection.

"You're hurt." I murmured and she barely looked at the cut, eyes transfixed on me.

"Yeah, it's…it's nothing." She murmured, "you're um…your aura is…" her fingers touched my hair gently, her eyes slowly turning the brilliant blue colour I found so fascinating. So beautiful.

"You haven't fed." I said observantly but with an even tone, letting her think…or not think.

"No, I didn't have time…" She touched my face and I felt the familiar surge of her power racing through me. I grasped her hand gently and kissed the knuckles on it. She seemed transfixed on me, another, far more interesting experiment. The succubus touch would normally have rendered me a blithering blob of puddy for Bo to manipulate, especially if she was as hungry as she appeared to be. I pressed her hand to the bandages, over my heart.

"Take it from me, Bo." I told her softly and her entire body trembled, "heal." She looked like she was losing herself. I was hurt, true, but meditation eased it. Maybe, by centring my chi, I had conjured some sort of succubus feeding ground or something of that nature.

"I could hurt you." She said, her eyes glowing like neon sapphires. "I can feed somewhere else…" I cupped her cheek gently. She moved closer, one leg moving to a side of my hip, her foot hooking around my back, pulling herself more towards me.

"I want to help you." I said softly, feeling her tense and her fingers clench my hair, her breathing coming in shallow gasps. "I want to be the one you come to when you need…" a low, almost growl emitted from her throat and she smirked, her hands tracing my face.

"Bo!" Kenzi yelped, suddenly her and the rest of them were standing at the entrance. Bo looked up at them, her eyes shining brighter than I'd ever seen before. "Bo don't!" Kenzi warned her, holding her hand out in a cautionary way. Bo looked from me to Kenzi and the group, her hand caressing my face tenderly.

"It's her aura, Kenzi, it's intoxicating."

"Why is she so out of it?" Dyson demanded from someone, I didn't notice who.

"She hasn't fed for days." Kenzi said, grudgingly

"That and Lauren's been centring herself all morning, all that chi circling in her for hours without any wandering focus…"

"Bo stop!" Dyson growled, "you could kill her in her weakened state."

"It's so pure…" she whispered, her fingers locking under my jaw, pulling my face up to hers, her bright eyes looking down into mine. I closed my eyes, fighting the urge to be what Bo needed in that moment and instead leaned my head into her chest, wrapping my arms around her loosely as the pain started coming back. I couldn't let her lose it. I couldn't let her succumb to her impulse to feed because I wanted to feel special. Because I wanted to feel like she could take everything from me and it would be fine. I felt her relax slowly, a shuddering breath escaping her lungs and she clutched me to her in shock. "oh god, Lauren" I looked up at her, feeling the tears roll down my face. Her thumbs brushed them away. "I'm so sorry. I'm so, so sorry. I just…your aura was so strong…I haven't fed in days…" I nodded and moved to get up, forcing her off.

"Yeah, yeah I get it." I said, shoving my hands in the pockets of my sweater. "I'm just gonna go for a walk, I'll be back later."

"Should you really be walking outside by yourself?" She asked and I looked back at her, seeing the confusion and shock on her face.

"I'll be back later."

"Why don't you, uh, why don't you stop by the club house when you're done walking. If I'm not there, just let yourself in." I nodded and walked through the group, who parted for me, their eyes following me out of the tavern.

+/+\+

I walked into Bo's house, hands in my pockets. She was waiting for me in the front room, two glasses of wine poured. I felt sick. Like really sick. My stomach was clenched and my heart was pounding in my chest. Something was definitely wrong. The poison was seeping into my body far faster than I'd expected. By this rate, I probably wouldn't make it much past tomorrow morning. Bo and the others hadn't found the herbs for what I needed yet, that much I knew for sure. And I wouldn't make it without it. But, if I were to die tonight, I'd just want one more moment alone with Bo. After that, it wouldn't matter. "hey" she said, leaping to her feet when she saw me, nervously smoothing her clothing. "I uh, how are you?"

"fine." I lied, she was in too much of a nervous flurry to notice. "You?"

"Good, I'm good." She said, before flopping back down on the couch. "No, I'm not, actually." She looked from the glass of wine to me. "Before, at Trick's place…it was-"

"My fault."

"No, Lauren it wasn't—"

"I encouraged you." I said softly, "I wanted it, I wanted…I wanted…" I looked away from her and sat on the arm of the chair. "It's stupid, really."

"No, no" she laughed lightly at the blush I felt lighting up my face. "Nothing you say is stupid, Lauren." She moved closer to me, taking my hand in her own. "Why did you want me to feed from you?" She asked and I looked at her briefly before looking back to my lap.

"I wanted to feel like you needed me. Like I could be…_everything_ you needed." She was silent for a long while. Suddenly, regret filled me. I shouldn't have told her that. I shouldn't have said anything. This would undoubtedly lead to her thinking I was jealous, which, mind you, wasn't exactly untrue. But I couldn't let her think it was her fault either. When did I get so sappy?

"Lauren," she said, keeping her eyes on the coffee table. "You know that, if I was able to, I would come to you to heal. But you're—"

"Human." I finished her sentence for her "and fragile."

"I could kill you if I lose control, like I almost did at the Doll."

"I know." Did it make me a freak that I didn't care? That I saw she was hurt and I wanted her to take what life force she needed to heal herself? I wanted to make her feel better? Make her wound go away? _This is moronic, Lauren, _I scolded myself _I thought you wanted to take it slow. _"And I'm sorry. Should it happen again…it won't happen again." I stood up and walked towards the door, stopping halfway. I'd already screwed things up, might as well throw more shit into the mix. "And, just for the record, when I saw it, saw the real you…" she played with her hands, expecting the worse "I thought you were beautiful." I turned towards the door again and suddenly, her hand was around my wrist.

"wait." She breathed, forcing me to turn to her. "Stay with me, tonight." I opened my mouth to say something and she cut me off "no hanky-panky, just with me. Sleeping in the same bed." I took a moment to think it over. Being with Bo was something that had become like a new dream for me. Something I strived for everyday. Something that I tried for. But I hurt her; she had a fair reason for keeping me at arm's length.

I slowed myself down when I came here for Bo's help after I ran from the Ash. I didn't want to push, swore to myself that I'd let Bo make the decisions, let her set the pace.

Now, she was inviting me into her bed.

Need I say more?

I nodded and couldn't keep the moronic smile off my face. Suddenly, the pain in my stomach and overall feeling of illness didn't seem so bad.

I let her lead me into the bedroom, let her pull my sweater off, revealing my bandaged chest and the spines. Bo helped me strip off the bloodied dressings and wrap me in a new set. I felt her eyes on every inch of my body as she wrapped, her fingers grazing my skin gently here and there. Even I could feel her and the tension she was creating between us. I knew she wouldn't do anything…compromising. So, instead, when she finished wrapping and I came face to face with blue eyes again, I gently ran my fingers along her hair line, my other hand holding her bicep. "Hey." She laughed once

"Hi." She said bashfully, though her eyes didn't fade.

"You alright?" she nodded and I leaned my forehead to hers. "I've got so much to tell you, Bo, so many stories and things to share with you."

"And you'll have plenty of time to do that." She said gently, her hand resting on my waist. "Now, come to bed, you look like you could use some rest." In that moment, I looked at Bo's face and tried to memorise every cell, every microscopic part of her. So, should tomorrow come without me, I'd have no regrets.

**Reviews make me giddy like a school girl.**


	5. Retribution

**Just a little thought, if you listen to the song "Nobody's Perfect" by Jessie J on repeat, it adds a bit of an atmosphere to the chapter. Just a thought.**

**Chapter 5**

_**Bo**_

"Trick!" I howled, using my shoulder to throw open the Doll's front door. I held Lauren, passed out, clammy and bleeding in my arms. "Trick! I need your help!"

"What happened?" He demanded, following me down into the basement. I clutched Lauren to me as best I could, running as fast as possible to lay her on the couch.

"I don't know! We were in bed one second and the next—"

"You were in bed?"

"Not 'in bed' in bed, just in the same bed together!" and, in that moment, everything from last night came flooding back.

"_You know" Lauren said, her head propped up on her elbow, hair falling around her face, her fingers lightly trailing up my arm, pushing the fallen strap of my night gown back up my arm. "I think I could get used to being babied." I laughed at the content look on her face as I popped a grape into her mouth. _

"_Well, you better not. You need to get back to babying everyone else." A look of pain covered her face but disappeared as soon as it came. _

"_We'll see about that." She smiled and I nudged her with my forehead. We'd meant to go to sleep, really, we just kind of got caught up in each other's company. It was nice to have someone other than Kenzi to talk to. And talking was nice. _Just _talking. No sex, no anything but words and soft bedside light. She looked so at peace too. So calm and content. She looked like she was finally where wanted to be, where she needed to be. She pressed a grape against my lips and when I opened my mouth to eat it, she pulled it away, popping it into her own. I couldn't help but chuckle. I like this Lauren. Not hurt, impaled Lauren, but the playful, teasing Lauren. I touched the locket around my neck and looked at the pendant around Lauren's. I let my fingers touch the small, flattened piece of metal around her neck. _

"_This," I said, holding the Ash's mark up for her to see. Her expression suddenly darkened, as it always did when the Ash's 'ownership' of her was brought up. "this may be a mark that shows he has a hold on you." I held the locket up and pressed it to my lips. "but this" I placed it over the medallion and held them together. "this is a symbol of our bond, of your claim on me."_

"_Bo, I don't want you to think that I only gave you that so I'd have—"_

"_I know Lauren." I said, looking at our necklaces. "This is just how it is. I missed you." I murmured softly and she looked at me, a shocked expression on her face that quickly turned into a lopsided grin. _

"_I missed you too." She said, allowing me to feed her another piece of fruit. My eyes were growing weary and my lids heavy when I felt her fingers pull my hair away from my face. "You should rest, Bo." I shook my head, trying to dislodge the feeling of exhaustion. _

"_No, no I'm fine." I said, opening my eyes to Lauren's amused expression. "I wanna stay up."_

"_Go to sleep, Bo." She said, lying down and extending her arm across the bed and towards me. "Doctor's orders." I couldn't help but huff a laugh and snuggle myself into her body, careful not to touch anything that could hurt her. She tightened her arm around me gently and buried her face n my hair, her body slowly relaxing, her chest rising and falling at a steady rhythm. I smiled and rested my hand on the side of her neck, running my thumb under her jaw line. _

+/+\+

_I woke up around eleven to a gurgling noise, wet splatters raining down on my body. I groaned, _I swear to god, _I thought angrily after being woken up from a most wonderful sleep, _ if that damn pipe is broken again…_ I touched a drop on my cheek, instantly confused at the slick feeling between my fingers. I moved it to my eyes and froze. Red. It was red. I looked up at Lauren and couldn't hold back the surprised cry that pushed from my throat. _

_Lauren's body convulsed in a choked cough, blood streaming from her nose and mouth, her fingers gripping the sheets on either side of her. The spikes had torn the skin open again of their own accord, turning the bandages a brilliant red. Bloodied tears leaked from her eyes. "Lauren!" I pulled her up, the blood oozing from her in streams. Her body shook again. "Shit, shit, shit, shit!" I slid my arms under her back and legs and lifted her. "Kenzi!" I ran outside, Kenzi following in tow as I laid Lauren in the backseat of the car. _

"_I'll drive!" my sister-like friend yowled, hood sliding over to the driver's side and ripping it open. I sat in the back, lifting Lauren's head into my lap. _

"_You're going to be ok, Lauren, you hear me? You're going to be fine!" she didn't respond, just wheezed for air._

Trick ran out of the room, I could hear the pressing of buttons as he called someone. Lauren looked up at me. "Bo…" she wheezed painfully

"Lauren, don't talk alright? You need to conserve your energy."

"I'm sorry." She said, her breath coming in short gasps

"for what?" I asked, pushing blood soaked strands of hair from her face. "You have nothing to be sorry about."

"The first time we were together…I'm so sorry. I…I never meant to hurt you…I wanted…I just wanted to save you…" My heart squeezed painfully. "I just wanted…one more night with you. I just…I just wanted to make things better…I didn't want you to think…I didn't care…" The tears started pouring down my face. I couldn't breathe. She turned over, blood falling out of her mouth in a glob. I felt sick, like my insides were being shredded by razors. She was dying in front of me and I couldn't do anything. She was dying and she hadn't sought out help because she wanted one more night.

Kenzi's arms wrapped around my waist from behind as she tried to drag me away from the Doctor. "Bo, Bo, you have to give them room. They need room."

"I've got a healer on her way, she'll do what she can for her" Trick said, walking in the room and wiping the blood from her mouth with a damp cloth. I went limp in Kenzi's arms, letting her drag me away. I couldn't fight her off. I couldn't think. I couldn't breathe. I could only look at the blood on my hands and the shaking body of the Doctor as she heaved the red goo from her body. "Bo, it's gonna be ok. It's gonna be ok." She rocked me back and forth on the steps leading to the tavern. "It'll be fine, she'll be fine."

I didn't believe a word of it.

**Reviews make me happy in this time of sadness.**


	6. You Came Back

"Hello, human-face." the voice cut through my fuzzy thoughts and the sounds of the respirator. I opened my eyes slowly, coming face to face with a dark fae shifter, her hard, beautiful features emotionless, almost cruel. But that had been her nature, I'd met this woman years ago.

"Amelia." I wheezed, lifting the oxygen mask, ignoring the way the dried blood cracked and pealed as I pulled. "How are you?" She chuckled and lifted her right hand; the scars marring her wrist were obvious.

"Far better than you." I smiled slightly, weakly. I was tired, blood loss had been extreme. I'd never felt anything like that before. Like I was drowning inside my own body. I'd gasp for air and swallow a mouthful of blood instead. The bleeding seemed to have stopped, for a little while at least. "I never thought you to be one to tangle with a manticore." She added, packing more herb paste around the spines, the juice stung as it leaked into my wounds.

"It caught me with my back turned. How am I still alive? I was haemorrhaging and…"

"And, luck for you, my centuries of medicinal experience let me save you."

"How, exactly, do you two know each other?" Dyson interrupted the conversation, obviously feeling threatened and perplexed by Amelia's presence. She looked at him and back to me.

"Is he always so hostile?" I laughed once and winced.

"Always." I looked back to Dyson. "I save Amelia a long, long time ago…

_It'd been the dead of winter. I was walking around a crime scene that I was supposed to be surveying for any evidence that showed which way the person they'd' been tracking had gone. A dark fae shifter had gotten into a fight with a light fae shifter. The light fae had killed the dark one and taken off. Dyson hadn't showed up yet so I took it upon myself to follow the trail. I ended up hiking miles and miles into the mountains surrounding the crime scene when I finally saw her._

_A white wolf had her paw snagged in a bear trap, vibrant red blood surrounding her foot and the ground. She whimpered and pulled, cutting the wound deeper and deeper. It was a shifter, I could tell from the look of intelligence in her eyes when she looked at me. The rage when she saw me and snapped her teeth, her eyes locking on the medallion around my neck. _

"_I'm a doctor." I said softly, taking a step forward, ducking under low tree branches. She snarled and snapped her teeth together. "If you keep struggling." I said cautiously, pulling my medical kit in front of me "you'll lose your hand." She stopped suddenly, looking down at the metal contraption, at the blood and large wound. Her demeanour changed from hostility to pain and the readiness to accept my help. I kneeled down by her front paw, placing both of my hands in between the metal jaws. "On the count of three, I am going to pull them apart, I need you to get your hand out as quickly as possible, ok?"_

_She shook her head, a signal I took as confirmation. "One, two, three!" I pulled as hard as I could, yanking the strong metal teeth apart. She pulled her foot out instantly and I moved my hands away from the device as quickly as possible, a sudden wave of relief washing over me when it snapped shut and my fingers weren't in it._

_She stared at me, her chest rising and falling steadily, eyes locked on me like she thought I'd turn on her now. "Can you shift back?" I asked, pulling a blanket out of my bag, knowing she wasn't going to be dressed. When I looked, she was beautiful._

_She had long legs, light skin and elegant features, a face framed by almost-white blonde hair. Her hand shook where the blood ran down the length of her arm. "you're a human." She stated and I smiled _

"_Your observational skills don't seem to be damaged." I said, wrapping the blanket around her shoulders, helping her pull it around herself. She looked away, an embarrassed smile on her own face. _

"_That's not exactly the context I intended for." I started digging through the bag, looking for a needle and thread. "I mean you're a human owned by the Ash of the Light Fae. _The _Doctor of the Light."_

"_Hadn't realised I'd gained a title. Yet I fail to see your point." _

"_The Ash would be mighty unhappy if finds out his doctor saved a terrible Dark Fae shifter." I looked at her and saw the caution in her eyes despite the teasing nature of her tone. _

"_I won't let my morals falter just because of who 'owns' me." She laughed once_

"_You've got balls for a human."_

"_I'll take that as a compliment." I said, earning a smile. "As soon as I stitch you up, you'll be free to go, just stay away from where I came from and you'll be fine." I put down the antiseptic swabs and held my hand out to her. _

"_Lauren, Lauren Lewis." She took it in her own with her good hand._

"_Amelia."_

"You betrayed the Ash to save a Dark Fae?" Trick asked, looking at the woman dressing my wounds, her lithe body clothed in jeans and a blouse, her long platinum blond hair pulled over one shoulder.

"I saw someone in trouble and I helped her." I looked at him before coughing, spitting out a mouthful of blood into the bowl beside the couch. Amelia set the air mask back on my face.

"I still don't trust her." Dyson growled, arms crossed over his chest. I rolled my eyes, holding the mask firmly in place. Amelia stood up, meeting Dyson eye for eye. Then, after a long moment, she snarled and Dyson leapt back, a genuine look of fear in his eyes for a moment.

"Good thing I don't want your trust, Pup." She smirked and came back to me. Dyson cleared his throat and adjusted his tie. Amelia had been an alpha of her pack the last time I saw her, it must've been an instinctive thing among shifters, they could sense the seniority.

"All that matters right now is that you can help Lauren. I know no one else with as much healing specialties as yourself." Amelia looked over at Trick as he spoke, her light blue eyes appraising and thoughtful.

"She save me a long time ago, I owe her more than just my hand, Trick. I owe her the lives of my children; I wouldn't have been able to feed them if not for what she did for me that day." My eyes started to droop with sudden exhaustion. "So, I'm going to do for her, what hasn't been done for anyone in centuries." The herbs. There must've been something in the herbs she'd packed around the wounds that made me drowsy, that made me this tired. She was preparing me for something, I just couldn't keep my eyes open long enough to figure out. I felt myself being rolled onto my back and pliers gripping the spines, a burning starting in the centre of my chest, slowly seeping in deeper.

I couldn't fight it; I couldn't ask what was happening. I just felt a soft, warm hand smooth over my forehead as my eyes became too heavy to keep open. "Don't worry, Lauren." Amelia's voice echoed in my mind "rest. When you wake, you'll be a new."

_**Bo**_

"Bo you have to eat something." Kenzi said, setting down a plate of grilled cheese in front of me.

"I don't have to do anything." I growled, pulling the blanket around me more as I sat on the couch, staring blankly at the TV.

"It's been three days, Trick would've called if something had happened to her. The fact that he didn't call is a good sign."

"He wouldn't let me stay with her. _That _is not a good sign." I wiped my nose with the tissue crumpled in my hands. Kenzi sighed and laid down on top of me, her cheek pressed against my own.

"You're an emotional wreck. Do you think it would've been good for Lauren, should she have seen you, to see you so destroyed?" I had no answer. "It'll be alright, Bo. Trick knows what he's doing." We were silent for a long moment. "What're you watchin'?" I sighed, and looked for the remote.

"Some moronic kids show I think." I found the remote and she grabbed my hand.

"You might actually learn something" I flicked her nose and she snickered.

"She's real bad, Kenz."

"I know."

"First I lost Dyson because he wanted to save me, then I thought I lost Lauren when the Ash came for her, now I might've lost her for good…"

"Don't say that, Bo. Lauren's like herpes, nothing'll keep her away for long."

"She's dying—"

"She's not."

"She _might _be dying because she wanted one more night with me."

"It was her choice."

"Then why do I feel so guilty?" To that, she had no answer. Instead, she managed to somehow wiggle under my blanket and wrap her arms around me. Having Kenzi there made it a little better. But I still had no will to eat, no will to move from the couch. Not even to feed. Just knowing that someone I cared about could be lying on a couch, spending her last few moments with some healer hovering over her without me by her side, was torture. I didn't know what was happening over there. I didn't know when or if Lauren would come back. What if the Ash found her? What if they came and took her away? What if I never got the chance to say good bye to her?

"Do you want ice cream?" She asked, pealing her cheek off of mine and looking down at me. I shook my head.

"No, Kenz, thanks for offering though…"

"Anything I can get you?" I laughed once, feeling more tears fill my eyes.

"All I want is for Lauren to be here, healthy and whole."

"Bo"

"If I could just hug her and tell her good bye"

"Bo..!"

"If I could just tell her how much she—"

"How much she what?" I froze, my heart squeezed painfully in my chest. _No, no, no. Please, for the love of all that is good, do not let me be insane and hearing things_. I held my breath but stood up, turning towards the front door.

My heart skipped a beat.

"Lauren?"

She stood just at the end of the corridor leading into the room I was in. She looked healthy, like the thing that had happened a few days ago was just some messed up nightmare of mine. She was very, very much alive, her eyes trained on me, a look of determination glowing there. "Hello, Bo." She said in her even tone, the voice that screamed professionalism and emotion at the same time. She was alive, standing in my living room, a healthy rosy colour to her cheeks, her hair clean and shiny, an heir to her that was strong, almost intimidating.

I couldn't help myself.

I ran across the room, the tears spilling from my eyes as I jumped on her, throwing my arms around her neck and my legs around her waist. She held me there with ease, cradling my head into her shoulder and holding me up with her other hand. Then I remembered that she'd been near death only fourty-eight hours ago and jumped down. "Oh god, I didn't hurt you did I? You're ok?" She nodded, glancing down at herself.

"I'm fine." I looked at her and pulled down the collar of her sweater, noticing the scarred, but healed, cuts across her chest.

"But…but how?" She pulled my fingers from her collar, pressing them to her lips and then her heart.

"It's a long, long story." She murmured, giving me a warm smile "one we can talk about later." She used one hand to cup my cheek, running her thumb across it. I smiled and leaned my forehead against hers, feeling the tears leak down my face. Happy tears.

Finally, happy tears.

**Oh, don't that just suck? Yeah, this is the end of this story but there'll be a sequel. **

**Eventually.**

**Reviews MIGHT just sway me to make it faster.**

**Might.**


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